Stuttering is a disorder of the fluency and rhythm of speech. Why does such a pathology occur, how to cure children's stuttering, is it possible to effectively fight stuttering in adults – these and other questions are very often asked at a doctor's appointment. This pathology is also called logoneurosis.
In general, stuttering develops in childhood. If it is observed in an adult, in most cases it means that the person has stuttering since childhood, but it was not treated.
Identified risk groups of children in whom stuttering occurs more often than in others. These are children:
- who suffer from spasmophilia in early childhood – that is, those with increased seizure activity;
- who have relatives with stuttering;
- which are characterized by a tendency to anxiety;
- which are often present in family conflicts;
- who have a delay in language development (this is one of the most common causes of stuttering in children aged 4-5);
- to whom are addressed the increased demands from relatives who are trying to speed up the language development of the child;
- who communicate with people who stutter;
- who learn two or more languages from an early age;
- who spend a lot of time in front of the TV or computer, because of which they are overloaded with information.
Knowledge of such causes is important not only for the treatment of stuttering in children, but also for understanding how to get rid of logoneurosis in adults.
Speech disorders in stuttering can be of the following nature:
- frequent repetitions of words or individual sounds;
- increasing the time a person spends on reproducing sounds or syllables (so-called prolongation);
- frequent speech stops;
- indecisiveness when reproducing sounds or syllables, due to which the rhythm of speech deteriorates.
According to the nature of the speech disorder, the forms of stuttering are as follows:
- tonic – characterized by a pause in the reproduction of sounds or syllables or stretching of some sound;
- clonic – observed when the same sounds, syllables or words are repeated several times;
- mixed – at the same time, speech disorders are observed, which are characteristic of tonic and clonic forms of stuttering.
Depending on the cause, there are such forms of stuttering as:
- neuro-like – observed in neurological disorders. Children with this type of stuttering lag behind their peers in development, and they start talking late;
- neurotic – observed against the background of stressful conditions – momentary (fear, distress) or chronic (constant psychological tension in the environment where a person is). The development of such children is normal. Adults with this form of stuttering speak almost without a hitch in a normal environment, but begin to stutter when a stressful situation arises.
With a neurotic form of stuttering, logophobia often occurs – fear of talking.
Methods for correcting stuttering in children and adults depend on what form of pathology is observed.
The term "logoneurosis" it is more logical to use it when defining a neurotic form of pathology, but it is often used as a synonym for the word "stuttering".
Speech disorders in stuttering are caused by a spasmodic state of the structures that take part in the formation of speech – namely:
- tongue;
- what kind of palate;
- lips;
- muscular apparatus of the larynx.
Stuttering exercises are aimed at eliminating these spasmodic contractions.
Spasms occur:
- articulatory (tongue, soft palate and lips are affected);
- vocal cords (the apparatus of the larynx suffers, with spasmodic contractions of its muscles, a condition similar to hiccups occurs);
- respiratory – with them "goes astray" breathing, a person cannot cope with it, a feeling of lack of air is created (although there are no objective prerequisites for complaints about such violations).
Spasmodic contractions occur because excessive excitation of nervous structures occurs in the motor speech centers located in the brain, which spreads to nearby respiratory centers and centers responsible for emotions.
Before treating neurotic stuttering or its neurosis-like variety, one should carefully find out the anamnesis (history) not only of the disease, but also of the patient's life. Factors can play the same role in the development of stuttering:
- medical (pathology of structures of the central or peripheral nervous system);
- personal (interaction with the environment – in a professional, family and private sense);
- social (unfavorable living conditions that provoke distress).
Based on treatment methods:
- speech therapy – formation of correct articulation and breathing when reproducing sounds (for example, gymnastics for respiratory stuttering);
- psychological – ridding the patient of psychological problems that provoke stuttering;
- logopsychotherapeutic – simultaneous work with the patient of a speech therapist and a psychologist;
- social rehabilitation – aimed at ensuring that the patient does not feel discomfort while being in a certain circle of people under the given circumstances;
- medicinal – use of sedative (calming) drugs;
- physiotherapeutic – they are based on the effect on the body of given temperatures, radiation, water procedures;
- non-traditional – acupuncture, hypnosis.
A number of methods of treatment of stuttering in teenagers, children and adults have been developed, but none of them guarantee a complete cure so far. It is also believed that there is no single 100% correct method for getting rid of stuttering.
All methods aimed at treating stuttering can be applied in such forms of organization as:
- ambulatory – in the clinic, the patient attends classes, undergoes procedures and so on, the rest of the time he can be outside the clinic;
- stationary – the patient is constantly in the clinic under medical supervision;
- family – at the same time, each of the family members plays some role (mainly psychological) in the treatment of stuttering in a person;
- group – the patient attends classes as part of a group;
- individual – one specialist works with only one patient.
You can find more information about stuttering treatment on our site.
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